ANNAPOLIS, MD — It's doubtful that anyone who follows the action in this venerable Olympic class would be surprised to see veteran sailor Mark Reynolds and crew Magnus Liljedahl open the six-race regatta with a wire-to-wire win. Three weeks ago this twosome put on a clinic, winning the US Olympic Star Class Trial Regatta in San Francisco hands down. This week, with 109 other competitors on the water, they've got their work cut out for them.
In a challenging, 12-knot westerly with puffs building to 16 on the Chesapeake Bay, Reynolds and Liljedahl led at every mark, sometimes with a nearly incredible two-minute margin over the second-place boat. Coupled with the challenges of shifting winds and a whimsical spring current is the fact that the fleet contains some of the world's finest Star teams-including 12 Olympic medal winners. Given this situation, Reynolds and Liljedahl's handsome finish on Sunday just might rival their San Francisco heroics.
Several teams occupied the second-place spot around the course for that race, including the Brazilian duo of Torben Grael and Marcelo Ferreira. In the end it was the Swedish team of Mats Johansson and Leif Moeller who crossed the line in second place, followed by a pair of American teams: John MacCausland and Phil Trinter, and the reigning Star Class World Champions Eric Doyle and Tom Olsen. Racing resumes today with Race No. 2. Only one race is scheduled each day.